Did Elon Musk visit Epstein island? He says no - Austin American-Statesman

Elon Musk had chummy correspondence with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, according to the latest investigative documents released by the Justice Department. But despite his emailed questions about it, the Texas billionaire is adamant that he never visited the convicted sex offender’s private island.

Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks in May during a news conference in the Oval Office of the White House. Musk’s xAI is under increasing global fire for allowing users to create sexualized image of adults and children without their consent.

“If I had ever been there, Epstein would have bragged about it endlessly and used my visit as a means of getting others to go, like he did when Reid Hoffman went,” Musk wrote on X, referring to the LinkedIn co-founder who worked at PayPal alongside Musk in the early 2000s. Hoffman visited Epstein’s island in 2014.

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Musk, though, maintains he never went. Still, he and others in his circle had periodic communication with Epstein about festivities and business matters — including questions about the best time for an island visit.

What Musk said about visiting Jeffrey Epstein’s private island

A November 2012 email indicated Musk’s interest in visiting the island for a party. The Tesla Inc. CEO asked Epstein, “what day/night will be the wildest party on your island?”

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Later that year, he continued to show interest in parties, telling Epstein “I really want to hit the party scene in St Barts or elsewhere and let loose.”

Musk's Austin-based EV maker was also a topic of discussion between Musk and Epstein. In a July 2013 email, Epstein told Musk the former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Bask wanted to discuss bringing Tesla to his country.

“Not a week passes without a request from someone important in Israel (and other countries) wanting to bring Tesla there,” Musk wrote in an emailed response. “What they don’t appreciate is that Tesla is production constrained, not demand constrained. When production has increased to the point of addressing the major markets, then we will start shipping to tiny markets.”

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Musk associate and communications consultant Juleanna Glover also chatted with Epstein.

Shortly after Musk’s infamous 2018 tweet that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 a share and had secured funding — a move that resulted in a civil securities fraud charge — Glover emailed Epstein about funds.

“If you are advising re: sovereign funds looking to help a prominent company go private, let me know if I can help w any approp additional information. Thanks,” Glover wrote in an August 2018 email.

Epstein gave a one word reply of “clever,” after which Glover continued to boast about Tesla. She called Autopilot, Tesla’s driver-assistance system, “the elephant in the room all see but don’t comprehend” and discussed the Model X and S’s “enviable” profit margins. Then, Glover went on to praise Musk.

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“Interesting fact about leader is that those around him accomplish the impossible because they witness his ethics and drive — yes sometimes also too transparent and without artifice, but that is always as a reaction to a perceived injustice or malfeasance,” she wrote.

“All nice, but bottom line is at the core. That being said, I only say great things about your boy,” Epstein wrote back.

The two had other correspondence, including an email Epstein sent to Glover on Sept. 17, 2018, while Musk was in hot water with the Securities and Exchange Commission over his illegal securities post. Epstein wrote, “rough road ahead. Sorry.”

Who else appears in the latest Epstein files release?

Other people in Musk’s orbit also appear in the Justice Department files. They include his brother Kimbal Musk, who also says he never visited the island, and investor and Musk confidant Jason Calacanis, who declined a coffee meet-up with Epstein.

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Joe Rogan, with whom Musk sat down for an interview, was also in the latest batch of documents. They show Epstein tried to be introduced to Rogan through physicist Lawrence Krauss after Krauss appeared on “The Joe Rogan Experience” in 2017. But Epstein didn’t get the introduction he’d hoped for and, Rogan recently said, “I would have never went anyway.”

Musk’s companies were referenced in other documents, too. A friend of Epstein’s lamented on the wait for ordering a Model X.

“By the way do you happen to know the people who make the Tesla electric car? I would like to order 3 of Tesla X model but the order Queue is so long,” one email read. Philanthropist Barnaby Marsh said in a February 2018 email with a “tesla in space” subject line said “musk publicity stunt is brilliant.”

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Still, Musk has continued to distance himself from Epstein and has endorsed online chatter that he blocked email contact from Epstein.

“That really made him upset. After I ghosted him, Epstein went on a massive campaign to short Tesla and got Gates to short 1% of Tesla stock when the market cap was $40B,” Musk wrote on X, adding that someone should ask how that’s working out.